I am victim survivor of 30 years of domestic, family and sexual violence and coercive control. I have endured 6 years of post separation and systems’ abuse.

My experience is not unique; countless women and children suffer in silence every day. We are not believed and systems are failing us. 

According to the World Health Organisation, 1 in 3 women globally experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. Domestic violence is a leading cause of injury and homelessness for women worldwide. Women and children are being murdered by perpetrators of domestic violence at alarming rates. 

Nothing is changing, in fact violence against women and children is getting worse! 

We must hold perpetrators accountable to prevent further harm. Strengthening laws against domestic violence, providing better support services for victims, and ensuring swift justice are crucial steps toward safeguarding.

Here is the NATIONAL PLAN TO SAVE WOMEN AND CHILDREN’S LIVES, designed by victim survivors. 

We need each victim survivor to have a lived experience peer support case worker. 

We need wrap around domestic violence or justice support hubs where specialist (female) social workers, psychologists, domestic violence workers as first responders can correctly identify the person using violence and create an evidence brief with the victim survivor.

We need justice support hubs to cater to all victim survivors needs for legal support, financial support, housing support, counselling and healing support and case worker support. 

We need domestic violence tribunals with a panel of experts (not a single judge) to decide protective measures for police to follow and to decide parenting and property measures that support and protect victim survivors. 

We need federal funding for domestic violence perpetrator tracking and monitoring combined with men’s behaviour change long term programs. 

We need a central national register of dangerous men (before they murder their children and ex-partners). 

We need a presumption of NO CONTACT between perpetrators and their victims; including children. No victim survivor to ever endure family court continued post separation abuse. Remove all cases involving domestic family and sexual violence from the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.

A Royal Commission into Family Court human rights abuse is long overdue. 

We need funding for victim survivors to stay in their own homes - government loans as banks won’t lend to single women with children (who often have perpetrator transmitted revenge debt) or government assisted rent to buy loans. Offer tax incentives for landlords to sell to victim survivor tenants. There’s no safety without stable housing. Offer first SAFE HOME buyer grants to victim survivors who do qualify for bank loans. 

We need the ATO, banks and insurance companies to understand revenge debt and ensure the person who created the debt is held responsible. 

WE NEED THIS PLAN TO BE LED BY VICTIM SURVIVORS! 

No victim survivor should have to pay any service or individual for their safety. We must take the profit out of the domestic violence. We must shut down every pathway and professional exploiting perpetrators’ need to contact, control and punish victims after they escape. 

Fully funding the Saving Women and Children’s Lives Plan will change everything. 

Sign this petition to demand stronger protections and funding for women and children to end domestic violence!